The Los Angeles Angels' promise to Shohei Ohtani of at least a wild card appearance is slowly turning dimmer. Their record now sits below .500 after they had three wins and seven losses in the last 10 games. Phil Nevin can throw any sort of schematic or new lineup but they still lack firepower. One person that may be able to give them all of that is Mike Trout.

The Angels outfielder has been out for a while after suffering a fractured left hamate bone. He was asked about his status before their match against the Texas Rangers. Apparently, he has already been hitting off the machine. It is still not at full velocity but that is great progress. There is still no timetable for his return but it could come quite soon as they push for a World Series run.

Mike Trout unveiled why he is still not prepared to go out on the field given his recovery, via The Santa Maria Times.

“I know that it’s just a pain tolerance thing,” he disclosed about his injury recovery progression. He also adds what signs he is taking into account before confirming a return, “Once it gets to a point where it’s bearable, I’ll be out there.”

“Defense right now, every day has been good. There are certain movements I do in the outfield where, backhand, where I hit it funny, it acts up a little bit.” he also revealed how training has been going on for him despite the injury. Although, a return could come sooner than expected, “But nothing’s holding me back on defense. It’s just the swinging part.”

Will he be able to help Shohei Ohtani and the Phil Nevin-led Angels during his return?